As promised, a post on the June MAAD bazaar. Well, let me first say it was definitely a different atmosphere from the usual bazaars, due firstly to the work on sale and second, the crowd. Undoubtedly, the patrons were the slightly more well-off crowd who would not quibble much about prices (unlike the teenage, budget crowd in many local flea markets). But the crowd was a slow trickle which was obviously bad for business – thank God for the friends who came by and purchased things off me, or I might not have covered rental costs at all! I had a few new patrons which was nice, but despite earlier beliefs that this was the ‘right’ crowd, I am now of the conclusion that it isn’t all that it’s made out to be – for vendors that is. I know I’d be interested, as a walk-in patron or shopper, in what Red Dot has to offer on MAAD weekends, but as a vendor it was a tad disappointing. Ironically, the two do go hand-in-hand: no customers, no vendors! I spoke to Vivian who had the stall next to me (she’s a mum selling her daughter’s handmade jewellery – aw!) and she said that the vendors had also dwindled to a few loyal ones or just those who had signed on for long-term leases. Well, I have 2 months to see if this works out – July is apparently MAAD’s anniversary so *hopefully* the crowd will pick up with more events!
Here are more photos of the weekend:
My stall right outside the door of the museum. Newbies are located here while the ‘long-term’ ones are inside!
Above: A Hipstamatic print of my stall on the first day taken with my Iphone
Below: What’s inside the museum – a funky white sheet of plastic (I think) looping over the ceiling
And I met this lovely lady Mandy from Forest Flame. After reading her blog, I found out that she’s a teacher too! *waves* Hello fellow educator! So it gives me a little hope that I can teach and do a monthly MAAD bazaar without going quite crazy with stress :p
She makes these beautiful headbands with handsewn flowers, lace, beads etc and one costs SGD25 – a bit pricier than common designs but I think you do pay for quality and handmade art! I was so tempted to get this lovely one (below) for my photoshoot in July. Well, Mandy will be at MAAD in July too and I will see if the band and I are fated :p It also gives me a lovely idea for my bridesmaids – if Mandy is free I’m thinking it would be great to have matching headbands for all of them!
Welcome to Mel’s Curiosity Shoppe, featuring beautiful handmade wireworked and classic-styled jewellery. My designs are one-of-a-kind – that means no remakes, and you get lovely trinkets no one else in the world has! 
I am a proud member of SRAJD!
